Even though it was four years ago, Robert Rise says he will never forget the excruciating pain, “Like someone was sticking a knife through my intestines,” the 60-year-old Helendale resident says. He wasn’t in a traffic accident or injured in a fall. Robert ate sushi.
Robert remembers the day, August 28, 2003. Robert had lunch at the Karuta restaurant, a Buena Park sushi place near where he worked. Robert ate sushi topped with a raw quail egg, something he’ll never do again. Robert wound up in the hospital for a week with salmonella poisoning. He lost 15 pounds in the first two days. He suffered sharp, cramping pain, the worst diarrhea he had ever known, cramps and vomiting.
According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, egg-associated salmonellosis is an important public health problem. A bacterium, Salmonella enteritidis, can be inside perfectly normal-appearing eggs, and if the eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, the bacterium can cause severe illness. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/salment_g.htm
Most food poisoning cases are not as severe as Roberts and most of them do not make economic sense to pursue as a lawsuit through an attorney. Small claims court is a great place to “get justice” when contracting food poisoning at a restaurant. However, all food poisoning cases should be reported to your local health department for investigation.
Severe food poisoning cases that are confirmed by lab tests and where significant medical expenses, lost income, permanent or fatal injuries are suffered may be economically worth pursuing through an attorney. When in doubt, call me for a consultation – John Bisnar of Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys, 800-259-6373.